South Africa will kick off the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a reverse fixture of the 2010 opener as they face Mexico in Mexico City on Thursday, June 11 - precisely 16 years after Siphiwe Tshabalala's screamer united a nation.
The odds were against Carlos Alberto Parreira's South Africa side at Soccer City (known for sponsorship reasons as FNB Stadium currently), and Bafana Bafana were eventually held to a 1-1 draw due to Rafael Márquez's equaliser.
Subsequently, the hosts bowed out in the group stage after a 3-0 loss to Uruguay and a 2-1 win over France.
Hugo Broos' preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup have faced several hiccups, and his side arrives in Mexico City as underdogs once again.
Home advantage is no longer in South Africa's favour, and they head into this fixture off the back of a stale 0-0 draw with Nicaragua in Johannesburg on May 29 and a 1-1 draw with Jamaica in Pachuca on Saturday, behind closed doors, which left Broos frustrated. Lyle Foster scored for South Africa, but Dwayne Atkinson netted for Jamaica.
"The performance was not what I expected. I think we have to analyse the game very well and see what was really wrong and try to make it better in the next few days so that we are ready for the first game against Mexico," Broos said, as per SAFA.
"I thought we were close (to getting to where he wants the team to be before the opening match), but again, it was, for me, a disappointing game this afternoon. So, yes, I have to look at what went wrong. I think it was also a matter of mentality. We have to do more, much more, than what we did this afternoon to have good results in the World Cup in the next few weeks."
Mexico head into Thursday's match off the back of eight successive unbeaten friendlies in 2026 - including wins over Ghana (2-0), Australia (1-0) and Serbia (5-1) in their last three.
Seven hours after the first game of the World Cup kicks off, the second will see fellow Group A teams South Korea and Czechia face off.
The top two teams will automatically advance to the round of 32 in the expanded 48-team tournament, along with the eight best third-placed teams across 12 groups.
Key details
Date: Thursday, June 11 at 9 p.m. CAT (1 p.m. local time in Mexico City, 7 p.m. GMT, 8 p.m. BST)
Venue: Estadio Azteca (Estadio Banorte)
How to watch: South African viewers are spoiled for choice. SuperSport is scheduled to air the match on DSTV channels 201, 202, 203 and 235. SABC viewers can watch the game on SABC 1 or SABC 3, while SportyTV will also air the game to viewers on their app.
For UK viewers, ITV have the rights for this game, with the BBC taking others later in the tournament.
For viewers in the US, FOX have the English-speaking rights.
Team news
The fitness of left-back Aubrey Modiba has been a headache for Broos as he seeks to recover from injury, with that position perhaps the most uncertain among his starting XI. Wingers Thapelo Morena and Mohau Nkota missed the squad due to injury.
Javier Aguirre - who was in charge for the 1-1 draw with South Africa in 2010 and is currently in his third stint as Mexico head coach - will be without goalkeeper Luis Ángel Malagón and midfielder Marcel Ruiz due to injuries which kept them out of the World Cup squad.
Expected lineups
Mexico
GK Raúl Rangel
LB Jorge Sánchez | CB César Montes | CB Johan Vásquez | RB Jesús Gallardo
CM Álvaro Fidalgo | CM Érik Lira | CM Brian Gutiérrez
LW Roberto Alvarado | ST Raul Jiménez | RW Julián Quiñones
South Africa
LB Aubrey Modiba | CB Mbekezeli Mbokazi | CB Ime Okon | RB Khuliso Mudau
CM Jayden Adams | CM Teboho Mokoena
LW Oswin Appollis | AM Relebohile Mofokeng | RW Tshepang Moremi
ST Lyle Foster
Stats
Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa is the only player from either side to have made both the 2010 and 2026 FIFA World Cup squads. He was benched for the opening game of the 2010 World Cup.
Mexico have 6 wins and 2 draws from 8 friendly matches in 2026, while South Africa have 3 draws and 2 defeats from 5 matches (including January's AFCON 2025 round of 16 defeat to Cameroon).
